When Midnight Strikes
by TacoXI
Summary: Saphire is just a normal girl, living a normal life. When her stories start to become a reality, will a certain Doctor be able to help?
1. Dedication

For those of you on the fanfiction site, this book was originally written on Wattpad. I have changed very little. That is why some of my author's notes may not make sense. 

This book is dedicated to BeautifulPink101, or, as she calls herself, Bambie. She is a writer from a fanfiction website, and this book was hers. However, she stopped writing it because of issues with updating all of her books. In her own words:

Hiya! No, this isn't another update, and it is some bad news. I am extremely sorry that I haven't updated in a while. A lot of things have happened in my personal life recently, and I haven't had the time to update or add any more chapters. I'm extremely sorry to say, that this will be discontinued from this point forward. I don't know, maybe some time in the future I may decide to update, but I am completely changing my account and will be trying to work on some other works that have taken centre stage in my mind. I am so sorry for those that have liked this work of mine, but it has fallen loose of my interests. I know how much some of you have enjoyed this, and it is saddening to tell you this, but ultimately it is my choice. All of you, feel free to write your own version of this, where you would have imagined it going. I would love to see that. But this chapter of my works is over for me, and I will be working on something else. I love you all, thank you for sticking with me for so long, I hope that you will stay by me for my new works in the very very near future. Once again I'm sorry, but this has been a long time coming.

-Bambie. Xx

I have taken up on her offer to continue this book. The first three chapters were written by Bambie, though I have edited them a lot (sorry Bambie) and made a few changes in the plot. I have made it so that it will fit what I have in mind for the future of this story.

I am wanderingycyansocks from Wattpad, and because I find it easier to write on Wattpad, I usually do so.

I consider this book to be written by both of us, so if any of you readers find that you're enjoying the story, please thank BeautifulPink101 for creating the idea and starting the book.

The cover I am currently using was made by WonderGirlFL from Wattpad. None of the pictures are mine.

I also feel that it is appropriate to thank BBC for the creation of Doctor Who, because if they hadn't invented it, this fan fiction wouldn't exist and I wouldn't have such an amazing Scifi show to watch, quote, and love.

Onwards!


	2. They're Just Stories

I had wished to wake up to a gentle sunlight streaming in through my curtains with the pure, melodious tunes of birds to accompany it. Instead, when I woke I was overwhelmed by rough sounds that drowned out whatever birdsong my imagination had summoned to meet my ears' expectations. Beeps of cars, shouts of people, and the constant roadwork noise from the busy streets of London dissolved the tranquil scene from my mind. I remained in my bed for some time after I finally did bother to open my eyes; I could already see the plain white light of what I assumed was a cloudy day. The peace I longed for was certainly far from here.

I sat up somewhat despondently and began carefully wiping my eyes, my finger following the curve of my cheekbone before sliding off my skin. I thought of my face as a snow covered mountainside, and my finger as a skier.

_Whee!_ I could imagine the warmly clad figure saying. I giggled for a moment as I realized how ridiculous my habit of writing had made everyday actions sound.

_Stop being the author, the translator, _I chided._ Look at things and see them as they are, for once._

I breathed deeply and glanced around my bedroom, wincing. It wasn't a small room, but it wasn't huge either.

_Just the right size for me_, I thought, unconsciously relating my life to a story once again.

I tried to concentrate on the simple aspects of the space around me instead of my thoroughly unhelpful inner voice and the mess strewn across my chamber.

The walls were a light peach colour, since I hadn't had the time to decorate yet. The desk was white, and I loved the little blue clouds on the chair I had paired with it. The light, sandy beige of my carpet...couldn't be seen. All of my unsuccessful attempts at writing, in paper and ink form, all but covered the floor, aided in this venture by pencils that were broken in moments of frustration, a few papers containing school-related information, and heaps of worn clothing.

I let out a sharp sigh and threw the quilt and light blue sheets off myself, swinging my legs off the bed. I staggered to the bathroom, slamming my leg into the two-door wardrobe next to my bed. Even a ten-minute contemplation of my life could not prepare me for the most critical part of a person's day.

I began the long journey to the bathroom halfway awake. The crunching of papers underneath my feet helped to pull my mind from the depths of dreamland, and the stinging bruise my cabinet had inflicted did the same. It was more than obvious that I wasn't a morning person.

My bathroom was quite small, but I didn't mind because it was efficient and provided me with the necessary hot shower. I steadied myself against the sink when I walked in. I had very little doubt that I would slip on the smooth sparkly black tiled floor if I stepped onto it unaided with the fluffy socks I wore.

Immediately after splashing water onto my face, I felt much more alert.

_To the shower, quickly! My mind gasped._

I made it across the room without falling and stripped off my red t-shirt, shorts, and socks before stepping into shower. I sighed in ecstasy as the warm droplets of water cascaded down my body, relaxing my stiff muscles.

A little after the ten minute mark, I stepped out of the shower. When I inhaled, all I could smell was my shampoo and body wash, so I felt much like I was in a land of strawberries and marshmallows, possibly sipping fruit tea in a sauna. I wrapped myself in pink towels and brushed my teeth with all the haste of one who is, at last, beginning to appreciate morning time.

Around twenty minutes later, I stepped out of my room wearing a red knee-length dress and black transparent tights. I decided to keep my hair down and curl it so I could smell strawberries for a little longer.

My kitchen was certainly my favorite room in the entire flat. The grey marbled counters stood out against the lime-green walls, but it was a color combination I had grown fond of.

I set a pre-filled kettle onto the stove and turned the unit on, my pink mug and chosen flavor of tea waiting patiently on the countertop nearby. I strolled into the adjoining room and flopped down into one of the two chairs that sat there. My elbow propped me up as I thought over the unfinished story that caused the majority of my bedroom's disorder. I began singing quietly in my head to clear my thoughts.

The only thing I didn't like about living alone was the stillness which held my thoughts captive in my head. A quiet environment is usually good for writing, but somehow it failed to provide me with a source of inspiration. The noises from outside still cut through the air, but they didn't help since I had become mostly accustomed to their constant presence. I was growing bored of my own company, my own words, but I had no one else aside from my nan, who didn't live with me anyway.

Growing up, I lived with my nan, since I had no parents. I never knew what happened to them, not even my nan did. She said they would never have left me, she said she knew them well, and yet they disappeared shortly after my third birthday. All I knew for sure was that they were gone.

It was alright living with my nan. She brought me up and taught me things just like any parent would, but it never felt like enough. I suspected I could do more with my life than what I had done so far. As soon as I turned eighteen, I used most of my college fund to rent a flat in London, and by now I had been staying there for six months. Since it was late in the school year when I was finally settled in, I signed up for online college courses. I had completed my third exam last night, so it had been going well.

The click from the kettle signaled the water's heated temperature and drew me from my thoughts. I rose from the wooden chair and headed to the stove. As I poured the scalding liquid into the mug and walked back to the table, my mind pondered over the story I was writing.

I had something of an obsession with science-fiction, so most of my writing was in that genre. The story I hadn't yet completed was about alien robots. They were humanoid, yet also emotionless. Metalwork protected their bodies. Round holes served for eyes, though these eyes were capable of much more than those of a human.

The robots were a recurring idea I could not shake, and when I finally decided to write their story, and had nearly finished, I realized that I could not avoid naming them any longer. They were robots. They had no names as individuals, of this I was certain. But as a whole, they needed a title. It was necessary for me to finish the gruesome story I had begun, but I simply couldn't, not without a name.

I sighed in irritation and slowly drank my tea as more thoughts collected in my mind. I knew I should not continue the rest of my day in solitude, despite the need to study for my next test. I needed a day to rest and recuperate.

After much deliberation, I decided that I should go out for a bite to eat. Hopefully I could finish my story at the café. I went to my bedroom, grabbed my notebook and pens from under the crumpled papers atop my desk, and left after grabbing my door keys from a dish on the kitchen counter.

I stepped out of the lobby of the apartment building and discovered that the day was quite windy, so I had to hug my notebook rather tightly to stop any of the loose pages from flying away. My chocolate brown hair whipped around my shoulders. Eyes locked on the pavement as I walked, I ran through possible endings for my story. The wind gave a huge gust, causing my hair to blow directly into my face and effectively block my view. I groaned in annoyance and continued walking as I raised my spare hand to move my hair.

_Wham!_

I abruptly came to a halt and fell back as I collided with an object that certainly had not been ahead of me before. My right elbow slammed into the sidewalk painfully just before my body hit the ground. I grabbed for my notebook and yanked the thready strands of hair away from my eyes, looking sheepishly towards the figure lying on the ground a short distance from me.

The man lying there scrambled to his feet, his expression equally as apologetic. His brown hair flopped over his forehead and partially over his eyes. He was wearing a tweed jacket, I noticed, and he straightened his blue bowtie as though it were one of his most treasured possessions.

"I'm so sorry!" I said, wincing.

I rubbed the grit of my elbow and awkwardly attempted to stand.

"No, no, it's my fault. I should have been looking." He smiled kindly at me, holding his hand out. I took it and he easily pulled me up.

"I'm the Doctor." He said, as I released his hand and hastily brushed off my clothing.

"I'm Saphire." I smiled shyly and hugged my notebook tightly. He grinned hugely, causing my curious smile to grow too.

"What's that?" He asked, gesturing to my notebook.

"Oh, nothing really, just a story I've been writing." I said, looking down at my book, then back at him. I didn't really want to talk about it because I didn't think it was much good. He didn't pursue the subject.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." The Doctor said, smiling at me.

"Yeah, you too." I replied, returning the smile.

"I'll...I'll see you later then." He said, turning to leave.

"Alright, bye."

I shook my head in amusement, turning around and continuing to the café.

Once outside the building, I opened the glass door and stepped inside, a soft jingling from the bell announcing my presence. I smiled and waved at the cashier, Finn, who knew me well. She smiled back, her black lashed eyes watching me from behind clear, large framed glasses.

I headed to a secluded table by the window and ordered a warm sausage roll as well as another tea. I flipped open my notepad again and stared at the words written, thinking hard.

A name. They still needed a name. Yes, that would be a fairly dramatic way to end it. Robots, partially organic robots. Metal, yet human... Cyber. Cyber something. They were heavily built, they resembled...men. Cyber men. Cybermen. Yes. I nodded and jotted the name down in the empty space.

At last, a name. The words began flowing from my mind to the air as I whispered them to test their worthiness. Yes, they would do. I snatched up the pen and wrote frantically. Almost twenty minutes, two pastries and three teas later, I had finished the story.

I let out a sigh and dropped the pen, massaging the tense muscles in my arm and leaning back into my chair. My eyes fluttered shut in relaxation. My story was done.

The loud sound of glass shattering outside drew my attention. Immediately, my eyes snapped open and I sat up stiffly, gaze focused out the window. A few screams penetrated the atmosphere, but I could not see the people who uttered them. I noted the lack of vehicle traffic as I watched several people start to run towards the shops while others headed to the street, presumably to confirm the origin of the panic. I leapt up from my seat, making sure to grab my notebook and writing utensil, and dashed for the door, yanking my payment from my jacket's pocket and tossing it onto the counter.

My heart was racing as I burst out the door, searching for the cause of such sudden, mass distress. A multitude of people had gathered in the road now, and chattering voices were added to the mix of sounds. A sudden strange noise accompanied by a bright blue light hit my ears. I turned to pinpoint its location, though I saw nothing unusual aside from the smoke that wound through the crowd.

The unwelcome noise rang through the air once again, and the people screamed almost as one. They jolted into action, frightening me into lurching forward a few steps as well, and they all ran in various different directions. They seemed to be trying to escape one particular area.

It was a fire, I reasoned. Or an elaborate prank. Had to be. I decided to avoid the commotion despite my curiosity and began to hurry down the sidewalk. Something in my mind was desperately begging me to leave. I could feel the terrible wrongness of the situation just screaming at me.

I couldn't leave though. I had to know what was going on. I slowed to a jog and concentrated. Something stood out. What was it?

Everything was so unbalanced. I could hear shrieking, sirens, voices, and an odd clanging noise. The air was cold, smoky, breezy, damp, and smelled slightly of... blood? No, I realized. Metal.

I skidded to a stop as soon as I saw them.

"Oh my god." I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. The shiny silver metal of the human-like robots gleamed as the stone cold faces stared back at me. The creatures stepped forward and the metallic ring from their marching feet on the ground sent shivers down my spine.

"You will be upgraded." The robot said in an emotionless voice as it stomped in my direction.

I shuffled away from it until my back hit the brick wall behind me. I was petrified with fear, and trapped as well, the robot stepping relentlessly in, closer and closer until it reached me. Its powerful hand clasped around my wrist in a painful grip, causing me to gasp in pain.

"But...but they're just stories...", I whimpered.


	3. Escaping The Upgrade

_**-Saphire's point of view-**_

How could this have happened? They were stories, that was it. I wrote about them from just random thoughts. I didn't even properly know what a Cyberman was. I hadn't developed my story that far. All I'd needed to write was that they took over the planet. That was the end to my book.

But here they were, and I was about to get killed by one. I hadn't written about a way to stop them either, so I didn't know what to do. I shook in fear as I stared at the metal creature in front of me, out of ideas.

I tried my hardest to get my wrist out of its grip, tugging with all my might, but it didn't work. My eyes filled with tears as I realised what was going to happen to me. I was going to get the upgrade.

"Help!" I screamed, desperate to get away. I screamed loudly, but nobody cared. They just wanted to get away. _Or they were being upgraded too_, I thought miserably.

"Saphire!" A familiar voice called. I twisted my body around, trying to see where the voice came from, but all I could see was the smoke, which had thickened considerably in very little time. The Cyberman yanked my arm, making me stumble on the shattered glass which littered the ground. The pain from my wrist intensified as the robot pulled me forward, making me cry out.

There was another flash of blue light that headed for the Cyberman pulling me, so I shielded my eyes with the notebook I still held in my free hand. I felt the creature jolt, the grasp on my hand slackening. I fell to the ground, holding my wrist while I shook. I was hardly aware of the screams of terror around me, and what I did hear I ignored. The pain was too great. It was only a few moments before somebody touched my shoulder briefly, making me scream.

"Hey, it's only me", Came the familiar voice in a soothing tone. I rolled over onto my knees, peering up through the hazy air. The Doctor crouched beside me, holding a severed arm of a Cyberman. He tossed the arm down and looked at me more closely, his hand returning to its place on my shoulder.

"How is this possible?" I whispered, looking at him.

"I know, aliens!" He said excitedly, not understanding what I meant.

"No, this can't be possible, because...because I made them up." I sighed, passing him my notebook.

He flicked through the first couple of pages, a horrified expression taking the place of the gentle smile from before.

"This shouldn't be possible." He whispered. "How do you know of them?" He asked seriously, his green eyes piercing through my own hazel ones.

"I-I just made them up." I murmured, scared. The Doctor stared at me intently in a confused manner. Then something seemed to click in his head.

"How does your story end?" He demanded, still looking at me. I looked at him in dread as I remembered what I'd written.

"They...they take over the Earth." I whispered, looking him in the eyes. The Doctor reached into the pocket of his jacket and, after rummaging for a moment, pulled out a pen.

"Change it." He said. I looked at him for a second more before grabbing the pen and working on the story.

It hurt to write, being as it was that the hand the Cyberman had grabbed was my writing hand, but I grit my teeth and braved through the pain.

As I frantically scribbled over my old writing, I heard the all too familiar sounds of metal heavily hitting against concrete. I glanced up to see three Cybermen marching through the fog. For a moment, I panicked. There was no way I could rewrite the last part of the story fast enough. The Doctor grabbed the discarded arm and nodded to me reassuringly, so I went back to my work.

I vaguely heard him shouting about proclamations and peace, but I couldn't decipher his words otherwise since I was mostly focusing on the book. I finally scribbled down the last word, dropping the pen.

"Done." I sighed in relief, cradling my wrist and holding it to my chest. I looked up at the metal nightmares in expectance.

One by one, they were surrounded by blue light and then they disappeared. It was as if they'd never been there at all, except for the obviously damaged buildings and the smoke. The Doctor once again threw down the arm. He ran towards me, sweeping me up into a fierce hug and swinging me around. I shrieked in surprise, giggling almost hysterically, my fear slowly melting away. He put me down, grinning from ear to ear.

"You did it!" He congratulated. I smiled through the pain in my wrist, feeling pride.

"Yeah, I did."


	4. It's Bigger On The Inside

_-Saphire's point of view-_

"What do we do now?" I asked, unsure of what might happen next. Strangely enough, I had never been in an alien invasion before, not even one that came from my stories, so I had no clue what was to come next. Would they be back? I hadn't recorded them doing so, but then, it wasn't as if they would follow only what I wrote.

"Nothing." He said, still smiling as he looked at me.

"What?" I asked, confused. "We can't just do nothing! W-what about the people who got hurt, what about me! I can't keep writing if this is gonna happen! And-" The Doctor put a finger to my lips to prevent me from speaking any further.

"We're not going to do anything. I am. You just go home and do whatever you humans do." He said. "Doctor's orders."

I frowned in anger and annoyance. "I can't just go home after this! My stories, what if I write about a dragon or something?!" He raised an eyebrow and I just shrugged, not having another example.

"Don't."

"But, but I have to write! That's part of what I do!"

"Then come with me." He said, after a pause.

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"Come with me." He repeated, now grinning once again.

I looked at him questioningly. I had just met this man. Sure, he was very kind and provided a wonderful distraction, but that was about it. It just so happened that we ran into each other again during the failed invasion. He should have been killed, based on what I knew. But he wasn't. He knew about what to do, he believed me, and I didn't know why. He seemed to know about the Cybermen that I had invented, and that kinda scared me. But I needed to know why he knew. How? Besides, he couldn't live too far away, seeing as he arrived at the site of the invasion so quickly.

"Okay." I said, the corners of my lips slowly twitching upwards into a smile. His grin got bigger after I answered. He grabbed my uninjured hand and started leading me away.

"Where are we going?" I asked, tucking my book under my arm.

"My place."

He walked me through the town, down many of the sidewalks I knew well, until we came to a tall blue police box. I studied it, puzzled. I had thought all police boxes were red. Maybe not.

The Doctor released my hand, once again reaching into his pocket for something. I rocked back onto my heels, wondering who it was that he'd call about the robots. No average policeman would believe there'd just been actual aliens in London.

He didn't reach for the phone, though. His hand emerged from his pocket with a key.

"What're you doing?" I didn't understand this at all.

He merely smiled and slid the key into the door's lock, jiggling it slightly as he unlocked the box. He retrieved the key, opening the door wide. He grinned, beckoning me to enter.

I was extremely confused as to why he would want me to go into a police box with him, but he acted as though it was important. I was very worried, but I trusted him for some reason. It was like I had known him all my life.

I cautiously stepped towards the box and then immediately gasped when I saw the inside, covering my mouth with my hands, my notebook slipping out from under my arm and falling to the floor. This was...insane! It was huge. It reminded me of Mary Poppins's bag, because it was not as small as it was supposed to be.

I slowly walked into it, staring about myself. The walls were lit up in an orange-y glow which came from everywhere, but... nowhere. The floor was a grey, but the platform it led to was transparent. In the middle of the room, there was a huge machine encased in a clear tube which ran all the way to the ceiling. A console with hundreds of buttons, levers and switches encircled it at a low level which was perfect for a standing human to reach. The rest of the room was huge. The bronze coloured ceiling went up so far I couldn't even comprehend the sheer amount of room in the seemingly tiny box.

My eyes were wide as they scanned the room, not believing anything I saw. I could easily have been convinced that I was on some heavy drugs or something.

"It's bigger on the inside." I whispered in awe.

The Doctor nodded and smiled mysteriously, striding in behind me and running up the ramp to the platform. He began flicking loads of switches and pressing countless buttons.

"This is the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space." He glanced over at me, and saw that I hadn't moved from my spot by the door.

"You okay?" He asked, a bit gentler than his bubbly attitude.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded my head, still looking around. "It's just, this is insane!" I squealed excitedly.

"Would it help if I told you she traveled in time and space?"

I just laughed, shaking my head. "No, it wouldn't."

He continued to look at me seriously. "It's real", he stated.

"Yeah. I think..." My voice faltered. "Maybe it is. I hope so."


	5. Where We Go

_~For Sanjanaa201199 _

**-Saphire's point of view-**

The Doctor smiled softly in response to my reaction, but his demeanor was quick to change. "Where did you send them?"

"Who? Oh." It took me a moment to realise what he was talking about. "Anywhere but Earth seemed fine. They should be back in their ships now."

He stared at me pointedly, like he could tell that there was something I hadn't said yet.

"What?" I asked.

"Why _you_? What did you do? Why do they obey _you_?"

"What?" I said stupidly. Clearly they didn't obey me, because one of them had tried his best to pull my hand off!

"You." He grabbed something that, from a glance, looked like a mixture of a pen, kitchen implement, and a large flash drive from his pocket and brandished it at me. "What do you want with Earth? Who are you?"

"I _live_ on Earth. Where else? And I told you, I'm Saphire. Who are you?" I shot back, knowing full well that his real name couldn't possibly be 'The Doctor'.

We were obviously lacking some sort of an understanding. One minute he was congratulating me and inviting me over, the next minute he was ready to zap me with a malformed laser gun because he'd decided I was a danger to the planet. Not to mention the fact that he had a bigger-on-the-inside 'TARDIS' and, if he had told the truth (which, in my view, was doubtful) the ability to travel in time as well as space.

"Well?" I challenged again.

The Doctor frowned deeply and said nothing, which began to worry me. Maybe he was really contemplating on whether or not to shoot me.

I raised my eyebrows at him in question, watching him as he stared at me. Slowly, I shuffled sideways and away from his gaze, leaving him studying the empty space where I'd been. "Uh, Doctor?" The sound of my voice brought him back to the present his eyes snapping up and towards me.

I gave him my best I-am-clueless look in hopes that he'd get the point. With a sudden movement, which startled me into hopping a few paces back, he swiped up my notebook from where it had fallen on the floor and pressed a button on his sci-fi laser pen, pointing it at my book.

"No!" I shouted, even as the laser began to make an odd buzzing sound. I couldn't let him destroy my work, not even after the disaster it had caused.

The Doctor turned to me with a puzzled look on his face, momentarily pausing in his progress. "What?"

"You can't just ruin my writing!" I said in panic.

He sighed. "I'm scanning it, not disintegrating it."

"Oh." I said lamely. "What is that, then?"

"Sonic screwdriver."

I snorted at his answer, but he chose to ignore my outburst and instead turned his pen towards me. "Oh, no. No, you're not pointing that at me." I waved my hands in front of me, trying to warn him off. "Sonic or not, no way."

He again ignored me and continued doing as he pleased. Which I suppose he had the right to do, seeing as I was at 'his place'.

He pushed a button on the pen and it vibrated loudly once more. I watched as the light in the end of his pen turned on, emitting a spooky green glow, and I realised just how weird my day had become.

I was no longer the Saphire who wanted friends to visit and wrote silly stories to pass the time. I was... changed. I could believe that I'd almost caused Earth to be invaded, and I knew that stories weren't just stories anymore.

I'd always liked to think that somewhere out there, my dreams were real. I'd loved to imagine living in my imagination.

And now, in an odd way, I was.


	6. Author's Note

If you want to see all the covers I have for this book, find this book on Wattpad through wanderingcyansocks.

Update: I've been rewriting this book, and finally I finished editing the first chapter. At least, for now. I kinda go off track some, and there are a few parts I'd like to work on more, but I still think it's a lot better.

Check it out, and keep in mind that the other chapters remain unedited. Reviews are extremely welcome.

Thanks. :)


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